Biodiversity of Meiofauna in thee Intertidal Khe Nhan Mudflat, Can Gio Mangrove Forest, Vietnam with Special Emphasis on Free Living Nematodes

The ecological aspect of meiofaunal communities in Can Gio mangrove forest, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam has not been investigated before. The composition, distribution, density and biodiversity of meiofaunal communities were studied along an intertidal transect at the Khe Nhan mudflat. Each time, three replicate samples were collected in four stations along a transect following the water line from low tide level up to the mangrove forest edge. In total, 18 meiofaunal taxa were found with the dominant taxa belonging to Nematoda, Copepoda, Sarcomastigophora and Polychaeta. The densities of meiofauna ranged from $1156inds/10cm^2$ to $2082inds/10cm^2$. The increase in densities from the mangrove forest edge towards the low water line was significant Along the mudflat transect, the biodiversity (expressed by different indices) was relatively high at different taxonomic levels but did not vary significantly along the mudflat except for taxa richness. Eighty nematode genera belonging to 24 families with Comesomatidae having the highest abundance 33.8 % were found. Theristus and Neochromadora decreased in densities from the lower water line towards the mangrove forest edge, while Paracomesoma and Hopperia are typical and more abundant at the middle of the mudflat. Halalaimus increased from high on the mudflat to the low water line.